My Aloha Adventures (life on the 9th Island)

 So...I usually shy away from really transparent blogs on the internet at the risk of exposing who I really am but I'm taking that chance today because it may help someone else.  I was in the mood for light-hearted entertainment today so I clicked  on a musical called, "Dear Evan Hansen". It was a musical. But, it was not light-hearted. It offered a musical look at mental health, relationships and other issues. I was hooked at the beginning because the main character sang about being on the outside looking into the window at everyone else and, to be honest, I've felt like that most of my life. Even with my family, I've always felt like i was just outside the inner-circle. I have felt invisible at work, at home, with friends and, shockingly, at church. I had a pastor once email me that it was my own fault because I built up a wall that other people can't penetrate. He said a bunch of other mean things but I'll save those for another time.  He actually was p...

When we told people in Oahu that we were moving to Las Vegas, the response was always the same: the 9th Island! Having been here for six months now, I can totally understand that response - there are a bunch of Hawaiian restaurants here and a few stores and/or products from the Islands. Sadly, no Hawaiian Winner (hotdog) musubi here though. There are some things that we missed about Hawaii but we are adapting well to Vegas. Quality of life is so much better here and having friends here already has been a blessing. The summer heat here takes your breath away but working from home made that more than bearable. I think living in Hawaii without air conditioning for almost 18 months prepared us for the Vegas summer! Lo and I both had jobs set up before we moved here so it's almost felt like we haven't really had a chance to explore what Vegas has to offer. Lo switched jobs about a month after she got here for a fully remote job and I start my new fully remote job on Monday. It seems...

After 18 months in Oahu, we have returned to the mainland. Our move was bittersweet because in another life, another time, the outcome may have been different. Moving to an island during a pandemic wasn't our best decision. Hawaii was shut down for most of that eighteen months, except for a very short two month period over the Summer. The area we lived in was also affected somewhat by the Red Hill water issue - some of the restaurants near us closed for about six months. Ironically, the restaurants and Hawaii reopened two days before we flew off island.  There is a lot that we will miss about Hawaii - the rich Asian culture, the manapua man, the relaxed lifestyle and hotdog musubi but we realized while we were there that having a good support system nearby is worth more than living in a paradise that we couldn't really afford to enjoy. I've heard that Hawaii is a great place to visit but visiting and living there are two separate things. Had our eighteen months been spent i...

It's hard to believe another year has passed already. I like to spend a few minutes on New Year's Day reflecting on the past year so I'm ready to move forward with a good attitude into the new year.  I'll be honest - 2021 was a hard year for us. We moved to Hawaii expecting it to be the picturesque paradise portrayed in social media and movies. What we got instead, due to the pandemic, was an overpriced version of Gillian's Island, with a lot more people stranded on the island with us. Most venues were shut down and most restaurants were take-out only. Products and goods were hard to come by and expensive. Just as the island was starting to open up in the summer, a new wave of Covid outbreak hit and the state imposed even stricter guidelines, which caused things to close back up in September.  Yes, Hawaii is beautiful. The beaches and mountains are Instagram-worthy. The culture and food are amazing. But...and it's a big but - living here and vacationing here are...

It's hard to believe that we've been living in Hawaii for ten months already. Time does certainly fly. M oving during a pandemic was probably not the best idea. We've had trouble connecting with people because of the lockdown. In fact, I got on the elevator with a lady two months ago  and asked her what floor -- she said my floor and then added that she was my neighbor. I had never seen her before (and have only seen her once since), even though we have met/spoken to her husband/boyfriend several times. I was a little concerned we might have a "Cruel Summer" TV show-type situation happening here but then I remembered that the apartments in this building are only 709 square feet so there'd be no place to hide her. 😂😂 Still, I pride myself on being pretty observant so I'm a little concerned that I didn't notice a whole person next door for over eight months. 😮😷 I've also realized that visiting a place and living in a place are two distinct things...

Aloha! As of today, we have officially lived in Hawaii for eight months. To say it's been a hard eight months would be an understatement. In hind sight, moving to a place we've never been during a pandemic might not have been the wisest decision. We did have a few short months where life seemed to fall into place: We bought a futon sofa and chair, Lo was working full-tme, I was watching the toddler during the day and working Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. But, life has a way of changing.  My inflatable bed popped so we had to move the futon to my room and bring the camp chairs back out.  My work days extended through the week so my nights were no longer free. And, our kitchen faucet sprung a leak. Honestly, we've been in survival mode for the past few months. We are working to turn our situation around but Lo and I both agree that if the you tube videos we watched before moving here had been a little more honest, we might not have moved. So, since a few people have r...

Several people have asked us to share our  experience of moving to Hawaii. Please note that, if you are planning a move here, your experience could be entirely different given all the different variables but here is what we have found (excuse the long post): TRAVEL When we flew in November, flights were around $232/one way. Lo and I had to purchase a rapid covid test at $139 each. Lo's results arrived before we landed but mine did not, resulting in me having to quarantine for 5 1/2 days. Travel here is opening up now but there are still some restrictions in place. SHIPPED BOXES/CHECKED BAGS We contacted a local mailbox place to see if they would store our boxes until we arrived so I could use my work's discounted shipping FedEx service. We had to pay for three month rental at the Shipping place. I spent roughly $357 to ship 12 boxes at the discounted rate. To ship one additional box (medium size) at UPS, it cost $189.00. We had planned on checking two bags each (around $240 for...

Things have been a little quiet on this end. To be honest with you, in months two and three, we were have a little "buyer's remorse". Moving to an island in the middle of a pandemic turned out to be a little more problematic than we anticipated. The lack of air conditioning (and heat on those rare cold, rainy days) was getting to us, coupled with the fact that so many things here were closed due to Covid. And, trying to connect with family and friends in various time zones only added to our frustration. Then there was the matter of jobs. While Lo secured a job before we got here and she started working in January, it took me a while (and 53 applications) to find something that would allow me to work weekends and nights so I could watch the Toddler during the day. I managed to find a seasonal job that's pretty much way different from what I've done for the past 30+ years but I'm happy to have it. In fact, my job was confirmed the day before my 61st birthday and...

Aloha. Pretty much every year, I make a resolution to learn a new language. I've attempted to learn Icelandic, Irish/Celtic, French, Spanish, Zwahili and Farsi. I also try to brush up on my German every year. This year, my language choice was made for me because we moved to Hawaii. I was surprised at how many Hawaiian words are in normal day-to-day language. So, in case you've ever had the desire to learn a little Hawaiian, I'm posting a few words, their pronunciation and the meaning. For those who have visited Hawaii, you might be surprised to find you've been mispronouncing a few things. We were. Here's my very short list of the words I've learned in our two months here (hopefully, I'm learning the right way to say them - if not, I'm sure someone will tell me 😂): HAWAII - ha-vy-ee - the state OAHU - eww-ah-who - the island ALOHA  - ah-low-ha - hello MAHALO  - ma-ha-low - thank you OHANA - oh-han-a - family KEIKI - cay-key - child KAPUNA - koo-poo-nah ...

When I was a month old, we moved to Germany. We lived there until I was about five. One of my favorite childhood memories is running through the sheets on the clothesline as my Tante (aunt) Miele hung up the clothes. When she was done, we would walk into town to the Farmers Market.  It was a weekly routine for us. If I close my eyes now, I can still remember the smell of the clothes on the line and I can still see all the different colored veggies in their stands. To this day, I still love hanging my clothes outside and I absolutely love Farmers Markets. One of the first thing we did when we moved here is to find local Farmers Markets. Oahu has a few markets but our favorite is Pearlridge. It's small but they have packed it with a lot of diverse local offerings and inexpensive local veg/fruit. We tend to do a walk around the different stalls before we buy anything. We like to talk to the vendors and find out about their products. Not going lie, we usually buy from the vendors that ...

 The house is quiet on this Aloha Friday. Lo is at her new job and the Toddler is napping. I have a few moments, lovely moments, to myself. I have a foreign movie playing in the background. Thankfully, no subtitles so I can mindlessly watch it while I relax. I hate that these movies always have the same format: girl is single, usually works as a writer/editor, she travels to a foreign country and meets the man of her dreams. This storyline just pisses me off because I've traveled alot -- some by myself -- and this has never happened to me! And, I went to a matchmaking festival. In Ireland.  By myself.  So...if life really does mirror art, I should be happily married to someone I met in a foreign land! 😂 Speaking of foreign lands...see that nice segway?  When people found out we were moving to Hawaii, I can't tell you how many people felt like we were moving overseas. We usually just smiled and mumbled that Hawaii is part of the USA.  However, once we got here, ...

Today is Fukubukuro in Hawaii. Fukubukuro is a Japanese event that happens on January 1st at some of the malls here.  Stores offer grab bags with assorted items for 50% or more off the retail price of the goods. You pick a bag based on the price you want to spend, contents sight unseen. I think it's so vendors can clear out old merchandise.  All of the more desirable bags were out of our price range today but it was still fun to see what everyone else was buying. It's definitely something that we'll save up for next year or do instead of Christmas gifts. Some places offer dancing and events during the day but the one we went to first charged $6/hour for parking so we pulled in and immediately pulled out.  We ended up going to another location. All they had there was a place set up for selfies/pictures: If you love shopping, this is definitely a way to purchase some nice "surprises" but I think you need to be sure you are getting your monies worth - a f...

Mele Kalikimaka! The Toddler has been telling everyone Mickey Mickey Mocka,  which is fine because people here don't really say that to each other anyway. Kind of like in Ireland, no one but Americans say "top of the day to ya".  😀 Today was a quiet day in paradise. With the time difference, we felt a little disjointed connecting with family and friends.  Plus, things here don't feel overly Christmas-y - not a lot of decorations, cashiers don't say happy holidays or Merry Christmas when you check out.  I wasn't surprised to see an article on my newsfeed last week that Hawaii ranked 49th in Christmas spirit. I believe it! Of the 100 apartments in our building, about eight have a wreath on their door and only three have lights on their window. Last night, after Lo and the Toddler went to bed, I was sitting in the living room enjoying the night breeze. I realized that, with my windows open, I could see my 4th, 5th, 6th floor neighbors' windows (in a non-thre...

It's hard to believe that we've been here a month already. To be honest, this move has been a little tough for me. It's not like I'm a stranger to moving - in 14 years, I have moved locations (states or apartments) eleven times! I think this time has been a little harder because I don't have a firm idea of what the future holds for me/us.  Lo got a really good job offer before we left Florida, which we are thrilled about but it means that our roles are changing. When she starts her training in January, I will be taking care of the Toddler during the week. I've been looking for a part-time weekend job. I've applied for all kinds of jobs (stocker, customer service, cashier, Admin Assistant, greeter) and I've gotten a few responses but no job offer yet. It's frustrating.  With the setbacks I've had since I've been here (quarantine, car delivery delay, no furniture yet, swollen feet), not finding a job is just another thing making me question if ...

Happy Aloha Friday!! Back in the day, before casual Friday, businesses here allowed their workers to wear Aloha shirts on Friday, creating Aloha Fridays. Nowadays, it mostly means no work until Monday.  For us, since we're not working yet, everyday is Aloha Friday!! 😂😂 The weather was great today so we decided to take a road trip. Our first stop was to Pali Lookout on the windward side of the island. It was so windy (think hurricane strength wind) that Lo almost dropped her phone. I could feel the wind pushing me as I walked to the lookout. The view was beautiful. The lookout is part of Nu'uanu Pali State Wayside. There was a sign requesting a $7 parking fee from non-residents, which started an internal debate on whether we should pay the fee or not. We decided since we have an apartment, we are technically residents (plus, we took turns going to the lookout because it was too windy for the Toddler so we didn't really park - we just drove in circles). From there, we decid...

It's the Friday after Thanksgiving. I'm still waiting for my negative test results to post. I'm getting impatient - I'm tired of being stuck in the house. I've called CVS twice today already with no luck. At around 4pm, I call again. The person I talked to is polite but firm in insisting that I just have to wait for the results to show up. When I mentioned that it's been seven days since I took the test, she interjected that since they were closed for Thanksgiving, its technically only been six days and that it wouldn't be fair to everyone else also waiting for results for her to try to expedite mine. Instead of arguing logistics, I told her how frustrating it was to move to a new place and not be able to venture out, pick up our stuff or confirm our car pickup. At this point, she softened - she said "You're on day six, I'm sure you'll get your response soon".  I thanked her and hung up. 4am Saturday, I'm still on Florida time so I...

It's our first official day in Oahu. Lo and I both get up around 3am. We're still on Florida time. Thankfully, the Toddler sleeps until 5am. I check the CVS site - still no results. At 7am, Lo and the Toddler venture out to check out our new neighborhood. I'm a little jealous -- I peer at them wistfully from our apartment window as they walk away.  I'm not sure what to do with myself. We have no furniture or anything to eat. I open all the windows and I'm pleasantly surprised at the nice breeze. I find out later that's the Trade Winds that come and go. I assess our new place. It's half the size of our place in Orlando but with the way it's laid out, it doesn't look that small.  Lo and the Toddler return about an hour later. They have breakfast, drinks and toilet paper. I'm thrilled! I'm excited to try the local breakfast from McDonald's that they brought me. I've had spam before but Portuguese sausage is new to me. I like it. After br...

 It's moving day. I'm dog tired because I've been up all night packing and repacking our bags. I set our alarm for 5am so we don't miss our 6am shuttle. I get ready, wake up Lo, my daughter, who has only had an hour of sleep. We grab the Toddler and drag our 12 bags down to the hotel lobby to get the shuttle. We are delayed because the front desk called to find out if we were coming down. The Toddler is asleep in her stroller, still in pajamas and no shoes. We should have plenty of time at the airport to get her ready and grab breakfast so I'm not worried. We miss the shuttle by six minutes. The front desk reschedules us. The driver shows up at 6:45am. Our flight is at 8:10am. The Toddler is awake, still in her pjs and shoeless. We get to the airport at 7am. The driver dumps our bags on the curb but when he sees my bewildered look, he grabs us a porter. I tip them both and make a mental note to save my cash so I have tip money. We have to use the self-checkin portal...

In September 2020, the theme park I worked at gave me notice that my job was ending on November 6th. Given that I'm up in age (60 to be exact 🥴), I was shaken. I wasn't quite old enough to retire and I wasn't sure exactly how to market myself due to my age. I spent a few hours that Thursday afternoon mourning the life I had carefully planned out and then I spent the rest of that weekend going over options with my adult daughter.  By Monday, we had made the decision to move as a family (my daughter, her toddler and me) to Hawaii.  The next two months were filled with finishing up work and preparing for the move. My daughter's job was in the process of ending so she was in charge of logistics. She started our packing, researched shipping options, looked for apartments and bookmarked many, many Hawaii you tube videos that we watched at night. She was a rock star and, by the time my job ended in November, we were mentally ready to move. What we weren't prepared for was...